In Their Own Words: Cain vs. JDS III

At UFC 166 on Saturday, October 19, the world heavyweight title is on the line when Cain Velasquez defends his crown against Junior dos Santos in the third meeting between the two heavyweight stars. Read on for their thoughts on their stellar careers.

THE SEEDS ARE SOWN“My dad wanted me to box, and I wanted to box too. (But) I got into wrestling and that was it for me. It was all wrestling.”

THE MEXICAN HEART“That’s my fighting style and that’s my wrestling style – to go out there and brawl. I put a lot of pressure on guys, I throw a lot of punches and kicks, and that’s just the way I fight. It’s the Mexican heart.”

MMA“My junior year, I knew already that I wanted to fight when I was done. I told my coach (Thom Ortiz) and he said ‘worry about wrestling now, and when you’re done wrestling we’ll figure out something for you to do and find a camp for you.’ And when I was done, he hooked me up with AKA and the rest is history.”

MAKING THE TRANSITION“Between wrestling and jiu-jitsu you have to have different mentalities. Jiu-jitsu is more flowing, while everything you get in wrestling is from work. If you get a single leg, you’ve got to work to get the guy down, and with jiu-jitsu it’s more flowing, and the action is more controlled. That part of it was the biggest change. The striking and all that, I think I made the adjustment pretty easy for myself; I felt comfortable striking so that wasn’t so bad.”

ENTERING THE UFC“This is the biggest show in fighting and this is what I’ve been waiting for. Those other fights were just like wrestling matches during the season. This is like the Nationals. I had to work my way up the ladder to get to the finals; that’s what it feels like.”

THE NEXT BIG THING“I’m non-stop, I don’t get tired out there, my game is good all-around, and I want people to see that I’m gonna be the next big thing. That’s what I want people to keep thinking about, that they can’t wait to see me fight again.”

THE PERFECTIONIST“I’m a perfectionist in the gym. I know my skills all aren’t where they’re supposed to be or where I want them to be. I need everything to be perfect.”

REFINING HIS STYLE“I’m trying to have more of a controlled style than what my wrestling style was – which was just to go in there and brawl. We’re working on being aggressive, but not getting hit in the process. (In some sessions) the coaches have me just defend while the guys throw everything they want at me 100 percent. Doing that I get to see a lot more punches now than I have before.”

A TALE YET TO BE TOLD“People can say what they want to say, but the book’s unwritten yet, and nothing is for sure. Anything can happen and I’ve got to keep putting in the work in the gym, keep getting better, and keep winning fights. They can say all they want to say, but if I don’t win the fights, and do it impressively, then all that talk won’t be heard anymore.”

ON THE LESNAR FIGHT“We knew he was gonna come out with a lot of pressure, but we didn’t think he was gonna come out that hard. It definitely did surprise me and I got into that brawl mode after that, but I just had to tell myself to relax and get back into the fight.”

LIFE IN THE SPOTLIGHT“At first it was a little difficult. Now, it’s part of the job and it’s gotten a lot easier as time has gone by. It’s no problem; we know what we have to do, and we know why – to get our names out there. It’s normal now and a lot easier.”

MAKING MOM AND DAD PROUD“Both my parents were real proud of me that we finally did it (winning the UFC title). It was an amazing feeling that we were all able to experience that together.”

LOSING THE BELT“There was stuff in that whole fight that I really didn’t do. I didn’t attack him, I didn’t really fight him at all. I threw a couple kicks, but I got way too comfortable and I really didn’t do anything. When we have a game plan going into a fight, we need to go in there and execute it and have a sense of urgency.”

THE COMEBACK WIN“It wasn’t to make a statement, I was just really hungry for the win. I don’t really go out there and say ‘I need to have an impressive performance.’ I need to have a game plan and do what I have to do to go out there and execute it. I just fought really hard for that fight.”

ON BEING THE CHAMP“It’s not even being known as the best. It’s knowing that you have beaten the top guys so that’s why you have the belt. Not even being called the best or all that stuff, or all the attention that comes with it; I could care less about that. It’s just knowing that I beat the top guys to get that belt.”

INSPIRATION“The great Brazilian fighters inspire me. I try to do my work as well as possible, because I believe I can follow the same path and one day become a great champion.”

BIG NOG“In the ring, Rodrigo inspires me with his determination, his courage and the way he never gives up; he always keeps himself strong. Outside of the ring he is a great influence, a great friend, and he takes care of himself in all aspects; I have always been inspired by him.”

AN IMMEDIATE HIT“I think it was because I was able to show my work the way I wanted to, and everything played out as I hoped it would. The fans like watching knockouts, and that is always my objective in a fight.”

SECRETS“I don’t have any secrets, I fight where I need to fight, be it standing or on the ground. If the fight goes to the ground, you will all see my jiu-jitsu skills.”

CLASS“I was raised to be humble, there is no way to change the way I am.”

THE FANS“I love what I do and I give my very best in each fight. When I hear the fans cheering for me I feel even better. I want to show them my potential; that’s where I get my satisfaction.”

THE YVEL FIGHT“My fight against Yvel was challenging for me. Nobody wanted to stand and exchange with him, but I did and came out with a TKO victory. He did land some good shots where I could feel his power, but I am used to it, because to be where I am at today I have taken a lot of beatings and had to keep attacking. To have me back up you need to throw a very powerful shot.”

MMA“My life has been dedicated to MMA. I am always training and studying my opponents, especially the last few opponents I faced. This last year was great for my career; even though I only fought twice, I was victorious in the fight that I was most worried about in all my career, which was the fight against Cro Cop. I was a big fan of his even before I started training, and I already feared him back then, just watching his fights.”

KNOCKOUTS“It’s what I train to do; it’s great when I accomplish my goal in a fight.”

MMA PART II“I love training and I love fighting, and the sacrifices pay off. I am very happy with what I am doing and what I have achieved in the sport.”

BOXING???“I started in MMA. My very first MMA fight, all I knew was jiu-jitsu, and I had never had a single boxing lesson. So it never really went in the direction of boxing. Boxing became a passion for me because I realized that I learned it very quickly. My skill level in boxing grew a lot faster than in the other mixed martial arts, so much so that today I would feel comfortable against any opponent in boxing. If I were to venture into a boxing match, I would expect to fight against any opponent, and I would feel comfortable going into that fight.”

ULTIMATE GOALS“Everything that I’ve achieved professionally is a result of my dedication. I know who I am, and I work really hard. I dedicate myself completely to being an MMA fighter. My dream was to become the champion. Now, my dream is to break records. I want to be remembered as one of the best MMA fighters of all-time, and I believe this is just the beginning.”

THE DESIRE TO INSPIRE“What I used to think when I was growing up was that if I worked really hard, I’d be able to achieve anything I wanted. And I think that being there in that place among them (In Bahia), I’m able to set an example for them up close because they know me from before, and they know where I am today. So if I was able to do it, they know that they can do it too.”

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